Why Is Boo Radley Misunderstood In To Kill A Mockingbird

Judging the Wrong People
Have you ever known what it is like to constantly do good things but never rewarded? Never acknowledged? Always assumed to be bad? To be a mockingbird means to not cause any harm to the society and do good deeds. Most mockingbirds don’t even want to be recognized. Boo Radley is a perfect example of a metaphorical mockingbird. Not everyone knows what being misunderstood is like; especially when you’re misunderstood for the wrong reasons. Just because a man keeps to himself, should he be marked as an outcast? Just because a man is rumored to have done a dark deed, should he live a lonely life? Boo Radley, a man who has been labeled by a myth, truly encompasses the qualities of a mockingbird. His status as an outcast not only leads to his misunderstood reputation, but also to his self-dependent, lonely lifestyle. Yet, the town doesn’t know he’s a harmless man who just keeps to himself. This misunderstood citizen of Maycomb, who all in all, ends up being a harmless stranger trying to help, resembles a metaphorical mockingbird.
The judgment he obtains from the people of Maycomb is the reason for his privacy. The citizens start rumors about him because they never see him in person or out and about town, so their suspicions arise to stories, which circulate the small town. But even though he keeps to himself most of the time, he inconspicuously affects the people of Maycomb in different ways and generally they are of a positive manner. His habit of sitting back and watching the happenings of the town is in resemblance of how a mockingbird sits and watches its